The invention relates to a packing element for the exchange or conversion of materials designed as a heat-transfer element. The invention also relates to the use of packing comprising such packing elements.
EP-A 0 391 846 discloses a fluidized biorector comprising a heat-transfer device which has a packing designed as known, for instance, from material exchange columns or static mixers: one such packing is composed of layers of wave-shaped or zigzag folded lamellae, the profiling of the lamellae providing open channels crossing each other. A layer of the known heat-transfer device is formed by two identical, uniformly spaced lamellae. The hollow space between the two lamellae serves for the guiding of a heat-transfer medium.
In material exchange or conversion columns it is seemingly not known to make the packing elements as heat-transfer elements. For instance in a catalytic reactor (EP-A 0 433 222), in which the catalyzer body is made as a packing in the form of a static mixer, the material stream is so guided in the packing, that preferably a heat dissipation to the reactor results.
It is known (see G. Kaibel, "Energieintegration in der thermischen Verfahrenstechnik", Chem.-Ing. Tech. 68, p. 99-106, particularly FIG. 13), that, for instance, during the separation of a material mixture (methanol/water) energy losses may be reduced by intermediate evaporation. It is arranged so that this intermediate evaporation takes place outside the column. It would be more advantageous if this process step could be performed by a packing made as a heat-transfer element.
In a packing, which is suggested for the above mentioned fluidized bioreactor, various difficulties are encountered: both side surfaces in the form of corrugated foils or sheets require an expensive design as regards distribution and collection channels for the heat-transfer medium. Because the side surfaces are uniformly spaced from each other, controlled guiding of the heat-transfer medium is practically impossible. In addition, there are no provisions which would allow excessive pressure of the heat-transfer medium.